During various medical procedures, it is often necessary to insert an endotracheal tube into a patient for such purposes as administering anesthesia. Generally, the prior art tube is connected to an endotracheal tube adaptor, which in turn, is connected to a gas source. Typically, the adaptor has a tubular first end that slides partially in a first end of the endotracheal tube to form a telescoping connection (more commonly known as a male-female connection) therebetween. The adaptor has a second end portion adapted to receive and secure a gas source. A danger exists that the endotracheal tube and adaptor will become disconnected as the tubular first end of the adaptor can easily slide out of the first end of the tube. For example, if such disconnection occurs while the tube is in a patient, the source will in turn become disconnected from the patient resulting in the interruption of oxygen and/or anesthesia and the possibility of harm to the patient. In other instances when the endotracheal tube is used for suctioning or lavaging the lungs, such an interruption can be threatening to the well being of the patient. Also, when the tube becomes disconnected from the adaptor, the adaptor often becomes lost as it may fall on the floor or on the operating table thereby making it impossible to reconnect the source to the patient.
Accordingly, it is a primary objective of this invention to provide a device that facilitates securely joining an endotracheal tube to an adaptor connected to a source without the risk of the source becoming disconnected while the tube is within a patient.